St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church

Albany, New York

Staff Members

 

We have six curent staff members of St. John's church.

 

Paul Rees-Rohrbacher, Pastor

Jean Kaercher, Secretary

Karen Lapierre, Mission and Ministry Coordinator

J. David Kaercher, Sexton

Dan Foster, Music Director

Debra Plue, Child Care Worker

 

The Pastor, the Rev. Paul D. Rees-Rohrbacher, M. Div.

Pastor Rees-Rohrbacher is a graduate of Capital University, Columbus, Ohio and of The Evangelical Lutheran Theological Seminary, Columbus, Ohio. Ordained in 1978, Pastor Paul served St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church, North Tonawanda, New York and St. James Lutheran Church in Gloversville, New York before coming to Albany in early 1998. He served as the Intentional Interim Pastor at the Lutheran Church of the Holy Spirit in the Delaware Avenue neighborhood of Albany. Since September 1999 Pastor Paul has served as the 13th pastor of St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church. He also enjoys swimming and reading, is one of the Friends of the Albany City Carillon, and is a vice president of the Capital District Computer Enthusiasts. Pastor Paul also serves as vice president of the Capital Area Council of Churches and vice president of Interfaith Impact of New York State.

Secretary, Jean Kaercher

Jean has been a member of St. John's for over thirty years and served as Parish Secretary for nearly eleven. She and her husband David are the proud parents of Mark & Jessica, Nathan & Suzanne and Dalynn & Scott. She especially enjoys visits with their grandchildren in New York and Pennsylvania. Jean spends free time working on counted cross stitch and Hardanger embroidery projects, as well as in the perennial gardens at their home.

Mission and Ministry Coordinator, Karen Lapierre, M.S.

Karen has been a member of St. John’s Church for 26 years. She and her husband Paul have been involved in a variety of ministries within the congregation, along with their children, Matthew and Sarah. Karen’s experiences with congregational, conference, and synodical ministries of the ELCA have led her to working together in mission and ministry with the people of St. John’s Lutheran Church. She strives to keep us all focused on our mission – Worship the Lord, Serve Faithfully, Reach Out!

Sexton, J. David Kaercher

David has been a member of St. John's for over thirty years along with his wife, Jean. He has been active on the Property Comittee and in the Council. David enjoys being outdoors and delights in flowers as well as golf, not to mention his grandchildren. You'll have to run to catch up, he is usually on the move.

Music Director, Dan Foster

Dan joined the St. John's staff in 2009. He brings many musical gifts to leading worshiop and music at St. John's. He is involved in the music scene in the Capital Region and teaches music lessons in Burnt Hills.

Tenor Dan Foster was trained in Sacred Music at Westminster Choir College as a singer, pianist, organist, and conductor. His teachers included Joan Lippincott (organ), Joseph Flummerfelt and James Jordan (conducting), Thomas Faracco and Marvin Keenze (voice performance/pedagogy), and Dalton Baldwin, the late Glenn Parker, and J.J. Penna (accompanying). He studied the training of young singers at the American Boychoir School.

As a tenor, Mr. Foster sang for three years in the Spoleto Festival International appearing in Der Rosenkavalier (Richard Strauss), The Excursions of Mr. Brocek (Leos Janacek), and Falstaff (Verdi). He has sung for two years at the Pitten Festival, Austria, appearing in The Mikado (Gilbert and Sullivan), and La Traviata (Verdi).

Mr. Foster is the founding artistic director of Aoede Consort, Albany’s premier small ensemble specializing in early music and living composers. Major works conducted recently include two Vivaldi settings of the Gloria (RV 588 and RV 589); Magnificat, Cantata 131 “Aus der Tiefe” and Cantata 140 “Wachet auf” by J.S. Bach; Messiah (G.F. Handel). June 6, he led Aoede Consort in a performance of Baroque masterpieces featuring Grand Motet Exaudiat te Dominus by Jean-Baptiste Lully and Handel's Organ Concerto, No. 4.

Childcare Worker, Debra Plue

This page's copy is © 2009.

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